Hello Cupcake Lovers!!
Sorry I'm a little late on this one! This recipe was my version of New Years Eve this year. As a non-drinker, I've found that chocolate and sugar and delicious baked goods tends to produce the same happy effect my friends seem to exhibit while drunk. Even if it doesn't work as well as I think it does, it's never too early in the day for chocolate ;) So after dinner and before midnight, I decided it had been a while since I had a good cupcake and anything goes on New Years Eve, so it was the perfect time to fulfill my cupcake needs :)
I don't know about you, but cupcakes are definitely a weakness of mine. A few wonderful quotes regarding cupcakes in my life...
1. While discussing with a friend how to best manage one's weight, he confidently suggested (like most men, who can eat whatever they want and still end up losing weight by some ridiculous and terribly unfair force of nature) that I, "run and don't eat that cupcake", referring specifically to the birthday cake batter cupcake I bought for myself from Crumbs a few days prior. Just so we're all on the same page in terms of the irresistability of this cupcake, here's a link.
2. While enjoying the cupcake you're about to watch being made with my family, my mom asks, "So what kind of cake is this?" and my dad, with flawless as always comedic timing and tone, replies, "Cup!". (Honestly, I'm still laughing while typing this and it's been about a month.)
If you have any fun cupcake-related experiences, please share them in the comments at the bottom of the page, or send me an email or google+ comment!
The Recipe: Chocolate Buttercream M&M Cupcakes (makes 8 cupcakes)
The Cake:
- 2/3 cup flour
- 1/3 +1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2+1/8 tsp baking powder
- 1/2+1/8 tsp baking soda
- heaping (not leveled) 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 2/3 tbsp shortening (aka Crisco)
- 1 mashed banana
- 1 egg
- 1/6 cup canola oil
- 1/6 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
The Filling/Icing:
- 1 stick butter, softened
- about equal parts powdered sugar (so in this case, about 1/2 cup)
- 1 tbsp hazelnut powdered creamer
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Dark Chocolate M&Ms
The Process:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176.6 degrees C).
- Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Cut shortening into small pieces to make it easier to mix with dry ingredients.
- Mash banana into another, smaller bowl. (Don't tell the kids there's banana in their cupcakes!!)
- Mix egg, oil, milk, and vanilla extract into bowl with banana.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and beat.
- Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners (or butter and flour the sides of the pan).
- Fill cupcake liners about halfway with batter.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a skewer (or toothpick) can poke the center and come out with some moist crumbs. You will be able to see the cupcakes rise and smell when they are done. Use the pictures as a guide as each oven is different.
- Allow to cool with paper towel covering.
- Blend ingredients for filling/icing.
- Use cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake. Fill each cupcake and replace its center. Ice its top and coat with dark chocolate M&Ms to taste :)
- Try not to eat them all before midnight!!
The Calories:
Flour: 300 calories
Sugar: 390 calories
Cocoa: 49 calories
Baking Powder: 0 calories
Baking Soda: 0 calories
Salt: 0 calories
Shortening: 203 calories
Banana: 109 calories
Egg: 75 calories
Oil: 318 calories
Milk: 20 calories
Vanilla: 12 calories
Hazelnut creamer: 35 calories
____________________________________
TOTAL: 1511 calories
Not counting the M&Ms (70 calories per cupcake), this makes a single cupcake only 189 calories! This is actually pretty fantastic for cupcakes. Plus, there's banana in it :)
What went right:
These cupcakes were SUPER moist. My family inhaled them in minutes and I was super proud :) They're very chocolatey and having the filling is a wonderful addition to the classics. Even my brother loved them with the banana and hazelnut. (Shhh ;) )
What went wrong:
I didn't have enough butter to make a good amount of the filling/icing and at the time I didn't know that we had an icing press with pretty design tips. I had fun with design tips later though (hint hint!) It was still plenty, but it would have been better with more.
What I would do next time:
Well there were more than enough next times with this very malleable base batter. These cupcakes went so well, I ended up baking a whole other set of three entirely different cupcakes all originating from this batter for a dinner party the next day. It took SIX HOURS. I gained a new respect for cupcake makers everywhere. Keep watching for these three recipes!
Would I do this in college?:
Yes and no. The cupcake spree, probably not. Mostly because I don't have a cupcake pan and don't feel like buying/storing one for the maybe one time per semester that I would make cupcakes. It doesn't take that long to make the basics, but it takes long enough. It would be easier at that point to just use my springform pan and make a whole cake.
Overall, an AMAZING first cupcake experience and a delicious start to 2014!
And now for the workout...naturally, I went back into my fitness routine after the new year began. It wasn't really a new years resolution, because I had been working on it for over a year prior. However, I decided it was time to revise my morning workout for the sake of variety:
- 150 regular crunches
- 100 ankle tap oblique crunches
- 100 reverse crunches
- 200 crunches with legs extended and feet flexed
- 20 leg lifts
- 20 bridges
- 20 leg lifts with the other leg
- 20 bridges
- 20 leg lifts with the other leg
- 20 bridges
- 30 clams in side plank
- 10 push ups
- 30 clams in side plank on the other side
- 30 tri push ups
- 20 second plank
- 20 second plank with leg lifts
- 20 second plank with alternating hip touches
- Stretch as needed
This should be more than adequate toning to justify cupcake enjoyment :)
Happy baking!!
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